Fathead (band)

Fathead is a Juno award-winning Canadian blues band.

History

Fathead was formed in 1992 by harmonica and saxophone player Al Lerman,[1] who remains the band's leader. The band describes itself as being based in Toronto and in Havelock, Ontario, where Lerman resides.[2]

The band was originally formed as a pickup group of musicians, organized by Lerman.[3][4] In terms of blues styles, Lerman had been significantly influenced by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, whom he had seen in multiple performances, commencing at the age of eleven.[3] As the band settled into a regular group of members, Lerman decided that the band would have a more permanent focus. Lerman named the band Fathead after an album he had by David "Fathead" Newman.[3] The band is distinguished by the fact that most of its songs are blues originals, generally co-written by Lerman and bass player Bob "Omar" Tunnoch.[2][5]

The band was originally formed with Lerman and Tunnoch, plus John Mays on vocals, Teddy Leonard on guitar and Mike Fitzpatrick on drums. Lerman, Tunnoch and Mays have remained constant members of the band throughout its history. Darran Poole replaced Leonard as guitarist in 2006,[6] following Leonard's departure from the band to play with various artists as a free agent. Leonard returned to the band in 2009,[7] and then left again in 2013, replaced by Papa John King.[8] The band has had a succession of drummers, being Mike Fitzpatrick (1992),[9] Ed White (1993-2001), Chuck Keeping (2001-2003), Hayden Vialva (2003-2007) and Bucky Berger, as of 2007.[10]

The band's first album, Fathead, was released independently in 1995. They were thereafter signed to Electro-Fi Records, a Toronto-based label specializing in blues music releases.

Throughout its career, the band and individual band members have won multiple awards. Two of the band's albums, Blues Weather (1998) and Building Full of Blues (2007) received the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year. Lead singer John Mays has seven times been awarded the Maple Blues Award for Male Vocalist of the Year.[11] Drummers Ed White and Bucky Berger, as members of Fathead, have both won Maple Blues Awards as Drummer of The Year: White in 2000,[12]and Berger in 2010.[13]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Biography of Fathead; Electro-Fi Records. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  2. 1 2 Kennedy Gordon, Fathead concert at Market Hall to be recorded for documentary DVD. Peterborough Examiner, January 13, 2012. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  3. 1 2 3 Michael Limnios, An Interview with Canadian bluesman Al Lerman of Fathead: There are good blues players in Detroit, Toronto, Athens and Moscow. Blues and Greece, November 27, 2011. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  4. ↑ During which time Tony Flaim, whose associations included the Cameo Blues Band and the Downchild Blues Band, joined as lead vocalist. See John Taylor, Tony Flaim 1948 - 2000; www.canadian blues.ca [link inaccessible]
  5. ↑ Tunnoch is also an award-winning Canadian artist and member of the Society of Canadian Artists. See Bob "Omar" Tunnoch overview; bobomartunnoch.com.
  6. ↑ Fathead News Updates, March 27, 2006, Fathead hires new guitarist. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  7. ↑ Fathead News Updates, May 4, 2009, Teddy is back!!!!; www.fathead.biz. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  8. ↑ Fathead News Updates, August 27, 2013, Papa John King named new Fathead guitarist; www.fathead.biz. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
  9. ↑ Fitzpatrick later became the drummer for the Downchild Blues Band, subsequent to working with such artists as Richard "Hock" Walsh, Jack de Keyzer and Morgan Davis. Downchild, The Band. Retrieved 2015-08-07.
  10. ↑ Blues Underground Network, Review of Fathead, Building Full of Blues. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
  11. ↑ Fathead News Updates, January 18, 2011, Another Win for Mays. Retrieved 2015-08-07.
  12. ↑ Roxanne Stasyszyn, Blues in the blood. Yukon News, December 24, 2010. Retrieved 2015-08-07.
  13. ↑ Fathead News Updates, January 19, 2010, Fathead Drummer is Tops. Retrieved 2015-08-07.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, August 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.